


Time Heals All Things

by The_Winter_Writer



Series: Endgame Fix-Its [1]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Avengers: Endgame (Movie) Spoilers, BAMF Tony Stark, Canon Divergence - Avengers: Endgame (Movie), Don’t copy to another site, Everyone Needs A Hug, FUCK endgame, Fix-It, Hurt Tony, Infinity Gauntlet, Infinity Gems, Pepper Potts Needs a Hug, Peter Parker Needs a Hug, Protective Tony Stark, Rhodey Needs a Hug, Tony Stark Feels, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, Tony Stark-centric, and i'm over here fixing it...again, because that's what we have come to, the infinity war/endgame writers had ONE FUCKING JOB
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-22
Updated: 2019-06-22
Packaged: 2020-05-16 18:08:06
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,433
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19323373
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_Winter_Writer/pseuds/The_Winter_Writer
Summary: Infinity, it seemed,burned.





	Time Heals All Things

**Author's Note:**

> As far as I'm concerned Infinity War and Endgame can go die in a fucking fire. I'm not here for that shit. What I am here for is to FIX, at the very least, some of it. Or just completely disregard it.

He had known, somewhere distantly in the back of his mind, that there was more to Strange handing over the Time Stone in exchange for his life. Of course it couldn’t be that he was the only one capable of solving time travel. That would have been too easy. Somehow, from the moment that now familiar blue glow first lit, it was all going to come down to this. The Merchant of Death had one last gift to give, one last thing, and that was his very life for everyone else.

It was a small price to pay in the grand scheme of things.

One life for an entire universe but that wasn’t, as horrible as it seemed, the primary reason something like _relief_ mixed with the swell of grief inside of him. Not when he could see those he loved, _alive_ and protected by _his_ tech. At least, if he gave his life now, they would _live_. He would have done every single thing possible to ensure their lives, to ensure their _futures_. Tony had not been able to build a suit of armor for the world but he’d certainly built enough suits for _his_ world.

Flinging himself across the distance, to grab onto the biggest threat in existence, to _steal_ the Stones from out from under that monster’s nose was easy. He had, after all, designed the tech that housed them and that tech recognized its creator as the Stones were pulled from one gauntlet to another. Tony was tossed away, as though he were nothing, as he hit the ground and Thanos raised his hand up with triumph he wouldn’t get to taste.

“I am inevitable.” The Mad Titan snapped his fingers and _nothing_ happened.

Infinity, it seemed, _burned_. It was fire racing through his veins, galaxies bursting to life inside of him, as the Stones crawled up his gauntlet and settled themselves into place. He could see the realization set in on that ugly, purple face as Tony defied his very human existence and the power of the universe to get off one last _fuck you_ to the monster who thought he could destroy those Tony loved.

Tony was all too happy to be the suit of armor the universe needed—this time, the last time it seemed, he would not fail.

“And I…am Iron Man.”

Snapping his fingers was both the easiest and hardest thing he’d ever done as the power of six little Stones, six pains in his ass, went supernova inside of him. Power exploded out from his hand, Tony caught in the epicenter of existence as the Stones rushed to do his bidding, while it flashed and surged through the universe at a speed Tony could, somehow in this agonizing and peaceful moment, _see_. He could see life bursting into being, how it was just as easily snatched away by Death, as everything inside of him screamed and screamed and screamed in agony before it was _gone_ just as quickly as it had come.

The Stones seemed almost apologetic, their power too much for a mere mortal, as they stole the pain away from him and allowed him to settle himself back against some debris. It was a Hell of a show, watching the threat to his loved ones turn to the same dust that had haunted his nightmares for five years but it was the sight of _Thanos_ , the Mad Titan and his _nightmare_ , fading away like a bad dream that had him relaxing with a smile pulling at his ruined face.

They had _won_ and it was a cost Tony was willing to pay, anything to give them a chance at life.

There was no coming back from this one.

Honestly Tony had thought, countless times over the years, that one of his gambles would be the last one and he had made peace with it—over and over and over.

If it meant those he loved where safe, if it managed to save those he had _promised_ to protect, then it was worth it. Each time he had been more than willing to greet Death, ready to accept that cold hand and follow it into the void but Death had not reached back and Tony had kept pushing forward in his efforts to save as many lives as he could. There would be none of that now—he’d seen the look in Stephen Strange’s eyes when the man had held up one shaking finger as their eyes had connected.

The weight of the universe had landed on his shoulders and Tony had stepped up to the plate, shouldered the burden and he had saved everyone. He had saved his world—those he loved more than the life he’d willingly given for them. Familiar, loved faces came into view as the dust settled.

Peter

Rhodey

Pepper

He could see it, could see how his sacrifice weighed on them but he couldn’t speak. The Stones had taken that from him, a price for their terrible power, as Peter sobbed and Rhodey looked at him with pained realization. He could see it on Pepper’s face even as Peter tried to cling to him, tried to will him back to life, just as Tony had done on Titan. The guilt at causing them any kind of pain was more painful than the Stones burning his life away but Pepper, his _rock_ , was there and he knew everything was in good hands.

They had all lived.

The world couldn’t be in better hands than the ones he was leaving it in.

“It’s ok Tony. You can rest now.”

Tony could feel it, how close Death was this final time, when the sound of sliding rubble had his eyes shifting slightly to the right as he’d been on the edge of letting go.

_Strange_

The gauntlet was disengaged, his fingers twitched at the loss, as Stephen reached forward and Tony recognized the Time Stone glowing in his palm. “I’m sorry, Tony,” He could see guilt, Tony’s own familiar friend, in the good Doctor’s eyes. “The Universe still needs you…it’s not yet time for you to rest.”

Green lit up the air around him, the familiar press of the Time Stone brushed against him, as power coiled around him. Stephen’s face was pinched with concentration as runes lit up in the air and Tony felt _time_ wrapping around him. It was the strangest, pun not intended, feeling as the Stone _enthusiastically_ worked to erase the damage Tony had all too willingly inflicted upon himself for the sake of the universe and his loved ones.

The damage slowly disappeared, his ruined skin and organs healing, while his armor lost the burnt and destroyed look.

“Vitals are stabilizing.” Friday’s voice sounded relieved as it filtered out into the near silent air hanging heavy over them, “Internal and external damage is healing at a rapid pace.”

Tony dragged in a sharp breath, everything _healed_ , as Strange slumped back. It was only seconds, seconds of realizing he was completely healed, before Peter slammed into him with a sob. His hand came up and clutched at the sobbing teenager as he took in the faces staring at him with relief.

“You’re ok. You’re ok you’re ok you’re ok. Mr. St— _Tony. You’re ok._ ” Then Rhodey and Pepper were there, crushing him in the middle of three of his loved ones, as his team slowly started to form a circle around him. Warmth, love and affection, swelled inside of him as he clutched at his family wrapped around him. He could hear Pepper breathing _Tony_ over and over in a choked, wrecked voice and Rhodey breathing out _Tones_.

He looked over at Stephen, still holding the Time Stone with the discarded gauntlet inches away, as he hung on to his loved ones with everything he could before his eyes moved to the rest of the people crowding around. There was relief, excitement and something resembling peace filling everyone’s face—except Thor’s. The pain, the crushing pain that Thor had tried to hide and failed miserably at, was still filling those blue eyes. The loss of family, of your last safe harbor in a storm, could destroy a person, even a god.

Tony resolved to find a moment to let the God of Thunder know he had fixed one more thing when he’d snapped his fingers—Loki and the remaining Asgardians lost to Thanos in his guest for the Space Stone.

They were going to be ok. They would pick up the pieces and then, once they were ready, they would get Natasha back.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm going to start by saying that Infinity War and Endgame are plagued by bad writing and so many questionable choices that should have never seen the light of day. Seriously bad writing and horrific plot holes you could easily guide an entire solar system through (if such a thing was possible but considering that shit show was given the green light by Disney/Marvel I think it's safe to say anything logical is out the window).
> 
> The "end" of a character's story does not need to mean the end of their life. It can be the end of a chapter, it doesn't need to be the last fucking page of their entire book. The fact that the writers (if they can even be called that) established it was possible to bring someone back from the dead using the Time Stone in IW but didn't use that same thing to fix Tony is insane and, as mentioned above, bad writing. Hell..it's **lazy** writing.
> 
> So...I fixed it. I used my first attempt at an Endgame fix-it to fix that glaring error and to fix, or at least hint at, a few other things. What happened to happy endings? Isn't the world shitty enough that we deserve to see our favorites alive and happy after they've suffered so much? Tony could have made the sacrifice play and then someone else could have saved him dammit. He would have still saved the whole fucking universe and he would have lived to see his little girl grow up.
> 
> ...I'm going to stop there because I could go on for YEARS at this point. I'm just full of salt about the whole thing and yes...the title is a pun because I have problems.
> 
> I would love to hear what you thought about my first attempt at a fix-it for Endgame (it will NOT be the last). Please leave a comment.
> 
>  
> 
> [My Tumblr](http://the-winter-writer.tumblr.com)


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